Clipboard - Off-Road News - February 2014

I am the last person to want to make a big deal about it, but being in the business it was easy to spot Jay's reference to the evaporator being in front of the radiator, and the condenser in the fan box (page 70, October 2013 issue).

Articles like this are very helpful to the majority of readers, without getting too technical. I thought it might help to respectfully point out this minor mistake.

T. Kallen

Thanks much for catching our slip-up, Mr. Kallen! The words were accidentally swapped in the text.

What the…

The guy says this monstrosity is one of 500 factory. Doubt it. Oh, the horror...

R. Venola

LONG-TERM UPDATES
Sure, it works great for the first week, but what about after?

K5 Crossmember

After adding a Gearstar 4L80E overdrive automatic transmission and an Atlas four-speed transfer case to our K5 Blazer project, we needed a custom crossmember to hold everything correctly in place after we spaced the setup into place using an old crossmember and a of lot of washers. We had Kibbe Tech fabricate a TIG-welded crossmember to fit our custom 4L80E/Atlas combination. It's important to have a correctly supported crossmember that holds the transmission and T-case combo on a rear (third) pivoting point in a triangular mounting configuration (one point on each side of the engine) that allows the powertrain movement as the frame flexes.

2011 F-250 Track Bar Ball Joint

Our truck finally went back to a Ford dealership! For the first time since we got our '11 Super Duty, it had to go back to the dealer. The track bar ball joint located on the axle failed, though this abrupt demise has to be blamed on us: We asked a friendly shop to pop in a new ball joint after feeling some play in the original track bar ball joint, so we were already on our second one. But we have now learned the shop did not have big enough tools (nor do we) to press in this particular ball joint, so they used a variety of methods to install it, including putting force on the ball's shank. When we bumped a curb making a U-turn on a tight street, out popped that ball and our track bar fell to the ground.

While we accept full responsibility for this damage, we do see this as a weak point. You might want to try a track bar fix kit on your '05-and-up Super Duty like the one from WC Motorsports if you are having track bar issues. The fix kits eliminate the ball joint and replace it with a rod end and double-sheer mount.

NEWS BLIPS
What's going on in the off-road world

First Place for General and Hutchins

Congrats to CJ Hutchins on the 1500 class win on General Tires, finishing fourth overall in the Vegas to Reno race.

5th Annual Collector Car Appreciation Day: July 11, 2014

The SEMA Action Network (SAN) has announced July 11 will be next year's official Collector Car Appreciation Day.

Win a New 4x4!

To support the CA4WDC, a sweepstakes Jeep is being built with the best components from top manufacturers. You can enter at cal4wheel.com

When hearing about his quest, Summit Racing sent AMC engine rebuild parts down to Professor Estrada-Belli so he could complete his expedition to the Mayan city of Holmul in Northern Guatemala. Estrada-Belli unearthed a stone frieze dating back to 600AD that would have never been found without his old Wagoneer, outfitted with an AMC 360, a Rough Country lift kit, ARB lockers, 37-inch Bogger tires, and a Warn 9.5 winch.

Ultra 4 National Championship Cancelled/Uncancelled

Due to a problem with an operating permit, it was announced that the Ultra 4 championships were cancelled in early September, but the promoters ended up being able to fix the situation and ran the Nitto National Championship at the Thunder Rock Off Road Ranch in Congress, Arizona, on the scheduled weekend.

You may have noticed a few changes in your OFF-ROAD magazine recently. Hopefully, this doesn't bring too much stress to your life and you'll handle it! One such change is that we've combined our letters, our news, and our long-term updates all into our Clipboard. You can reach us at info@off-roadweb.com or at the old email addresses previously published.